DURHAM -- Parliament Hill is reeling with the news of Whitby-Oshawa MP and former finance minister Jim Flaherty’s death Thursday afternoon.

Durham MP Erin O’Toole was in the House of Commons, moments away from the start of question period, when news broke that Mr. Flaherty had fallen ill. Shortly after paramedics were called to Mr. Flaherty’s Ottawa home, reports poured in that he suffered a heart attack and died.

“We’re all in shock here ... The entire House was in an absolute state of shock,” said Mr. O’Toole.

The House of Commons in Ottawa was suspended for the day and Queen’s Park in Toronto took a recess in tribute to the long-serving politician.

Mr. O’Toole, in his first term in Ottawa, said Mr. Flaherty was a mentor to him.

“One word sums up Jim Flaherty, and that’s passion. He was passionate for Canada, passionate for Ontario, passionate for Durham Region and passionate for his family and friends,” said Mr. O’Toole.

Mr. Flaherty devoted his life to public service, sacrificing family time and his health, Mr. O’Toole said.

Just three weeks ago, Mr. Flaherty announced he was resigning from the federal cabinet and returning to the private sector. It was a decision he made with his family earlier this year, according to a statement issued March 18.

“It’s hard to believe that he passed away like this,” said Mr. O’Toole. “Particularly at a time when we were all hoping he could spend time with family ... We have to remember the incredible impact he had.”

First elected to the House of Commons when the Tories took power in 2006, Mr. Flaherty was re-elected in 2008 and 2011. He was appointed Canada’s minister of finance in 2006 and also served as minister responsible for the Greater Toronto Area. Mr. O’Toole said Mr. Flaherty didn’t just balance the budget as finance minister, but played a key role in the creation of the Abilities Centre and UOIT.

Simcoe North MP Bruce Stanton says.“It has sent a whole pall through this place,” Mr. Stanton said from Ottawa Thursday afternoon. “People are pretty shaken up by it. It was so completely unexpected.”

Mr. Flaherty, who resigned as finance minister a few weeks ago, died suddenly at his condominium in downtown Ottawa Thursday.

His family issued a statement, saying their “beloved husband and father passed away peacefully today in Ottawa.”

Question period was halted and MPs put aside partisan politics as they dealt with news of Mr. Flaherty’s death, Mr. Stanton added.

“Even though he was a colleague that was on one side of the political fence, when things like this happen it instantly breaks down those political barriers and people are more like human beings ought to be,” he said.

Barrie MP Patrick Brown said he was stunned by Mr. Flaherty’s death.

“He was a remarkable finance minister during one of the worst global recessions. Under his leadership Canada became the envy of the industrialized world,” Mr. Brown said today.

“Jim was a dear friend. I considered him both a friend and mentor.”

Mr. Flaherty had been in ill health for some time, though that was not cited as a reason for his stepping aside from cabinet earlier this year.

“Jim was always a kind of a guy who never really let the politics get in the way of his human touch,” Mr. Stanton said. “He’d smile and he was a kind personality. You could tell through the body language right away.

“He was a kind and gentle man, and very thoughtful and intelligent and dedicated to the task at hand, whatever that might have been,” he added.

The Ontario legislature had a 20-minute recess out of respect for Mr. Flaherty and his wife Christine Elliott, an MPP.

“He had a certain humanity about him that was obvious right at the first instance,” Mr. Stanton said. “He would always lend you an ear if you had something to share with him.”